


Remembrance

by President Romana (asoldandtrueasthesky)



Category: Gallifrey (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-07-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 04:45:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4334375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asoldandtrueasthesky/pseuds/President%20Romana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Romana can't fix all her mistakes. Even if Gallifrey has forgotten, the marks and scars the civil war left can't be erased. Set post season 6.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Remembrance

Romana left the hall of the Academy she’d loathed having finally managed to halt the stream of polite questions from students and was unsurprised to find Leela standing by the memorial.

The centre of the memorial was a large stone which was inscribed with the names of all the students killed by Darkel’s bomb and surrounded by smaller stones that held the names of the rest of the casualties of the civil war. There were more names than could fit on the stone so they changed every time they were read.

Leela didn’t look up as Romana joined her. “It was a good talk Romana but they cannot remember what they are meant to be remembering.”

“We may have erased their memories but we haven’t erased the dead. They should be… known, at least, by more than just us.”  

“I suppose it is better than nothing.”

The strained silence didn’t last long. “My K-9 is not on the list of the dead.” Leela noted.

Romana hesitated. “He’s not legally recognised as a person.”

“So? Do not tell me your laws recognise aliens and Gallifreyans equally, I would not believe you. I doubt they even treat all of your people equally.” Romana was silent which she took as agreement. “Does K-9 not deserve to be remembered? Was he not as brave as us?”

“He’s a computer, a robot. He can’t be brave, his programming doesn’t give him a _choice_.”

“Everyone has a choice.”

Leela ignored Romana for the rest of the ceremony, the occasion had stirred up unpleasant memories of Romana, instead solemnly staring at the stones and thinking of everything they symbolised. The dead students she’d once known, the percussion bombs that had struck at more than just her and Narvin and the chaos that had gripped Gallifrey, she felt almost guilty for how she’d revelled in it, for preferring the chaos of a war that killed people over the daily wars of long words and backstabbing that Time Lords preferred but people died in those wars too, those deaths were just easier to overlook.

-

Back at her Presidential office her own battered but very much alive K-9 moved forward to greet her and Romana couldn’t hold back a weary sigh.

“Mistress?”

“It’s nothing K-9, just Leela.”

She could recreate Leela’s K-9 given enough spare time and the right parts but she knew she wouldn’t accept it, knew she wouldn’t see it as her K-9 no matter how closely she replicated his programming. Leela was of the firm opinion that people and computers were more than the sum of their parts- more than bodies and synapses and neurones, more than genes that dictated how a cell should grow, more than mental patterns stolen from the archives of the APC net. She would never accept that K-9 was nothing more than metal alloy and programming and databanks and Romana wasn’t really sure whether she believed that herself.

She wanted to show Leela she cared, that she was more than long words and statistics and facts and theory, but she knew she’d never be able to find the right words and Leela wasn’t telepathic. Her glance strayed back to her K-9, thoughts wandering back to how easily replicable he was and stood up, suddenly struck with an idea.

“I think you can help, K-9.”

-

It hadn’t been hard to invent an excuse to visit the Academy again, this time she’d delivered a talk on the importance of interaction with the outside Universe which had somehow devolved into a debate on the legitimacy of interspecies relationships, and Leela had of course accompanied her in case of any assassination attempts. It might have been her presence that had sparked the debate, actually, she’d seen the way some of the students had looked at the two of them.

Again, when they slip out Leela is drawn to the stones but this time there is a new addition to the memorial- a statue of K-9 mark I. It’s a perfect replica and if not for the fact it was struck in stone instead of metal Leela might have mistook it for Romana’s.

“I thought it would be better than the numerous statues of Rassilon that adorn the place. We might be the most advanced civilisation in the Universe but I don’t think we’ll ever win any awards for interior or exterior design.” Romana quipped.  

Leela smiled. “Thank you Romana.”

Still not confident at handling emotions or anything similar she started to back away. “Would you like to be alone?”

“No. This is better.” She took her friend’s hand in a gentle grip and pulled her to sit on the red grass and they sat there together in quiet remembrance for as many microspans as Romana could spare.  


End file.
